SPC: Resolutions - to appreciate more

I find it amazing that when I initially heard the topic for Jan SPC was Resolutions I was taken aback thinking I wouldn't know what to say, or would possibly not participate. Here we are 5 Tuesdays later and I've had no trouble coming up with resolutions at all.

This week I decided to go with a different angle. Instead of something specific I wanted to change that wasn't how I liked it, I thought it would be a good idea to take the time to remember and be thankful of how things are right now. I have supportive family and friends, I like my job, I love my apartment, I've got money in the bank and food in the fridge. I feel confident and able to do almost anything, if I want to. That's pretty freaking good.

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101 in 1001 update #47!!!

Ever have those days (or weeks.. months... etc) where it feels like there is always something to do? Dishes to clean, clothes to find, floors to sweep, movies to watch, posts to write, cats to pet.... ok that one is ok. I feel like I've been constantly doing dishes and cooking for the past while. And in truth - I have! I decided to change my dinner routine and cook dinner Sat/Sun/and 2 on Monday, and that is it for the rest of the week. It covers the rest of dinners and lunches with leftovers. Which is divine, except for on.. you guessed it... Sat/Sun/Monday. Ah well, at least I liked both the things I made tonight!

One more task complete! #29 - Learn to knit or relearn to crochet, brings me to 36/101! Whoopee!!! That one was a complete joy to do.

Other ones that are in progress: #7 - See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year, up to 5 weeks now, getting out to see 3 films (gotta love the Oscar race) Letters from Iwo Jima, The Good Shephard, and Notes on a Scandal. No reviews in yet, but outta the three Notes was by far the one I would recommend.



#38 - Keep a plant alive from 'The Auction' from one year to the next - update: Still alive they are! New addition to the pic area (the thin long light green one) was repotted from a plant I got in the summer. I repotted that one and a cutting from another on the weekend. I put it off for over a month! I was worried about making a mess, killing them, many things. Its been a few days and so far they are fine, lets keep our fingers crossed, eh?



#21 - Save a part of every paycheque - done!

#94 - Read every day - done! Still reading Sword-Born and Sword-Sworn by Jennifer Roberson. I feel like I've been reading it forever! hehe



#92 - Learn/Discover something new every day
Monday Jan 22/07 - The Pickton trial started today
Tuesday Jan 23/07 - The amount that my new normal pay will be (woot)
Wednesday Jan 24/07 - I actually missed a screening I wanted to by remember the date wrong. This shocked me, really shocked me.
Thursday Jan 25/07 - online publishing service //www.lulu.com (that looks .. free?)
Friday Jan 26/07 - Menu Mailer has some downloads, including a freezer one
Saturday Jan 27/07 - how to cast off in knitting and to make a fringe
Sunday Jan 28/07 - exactly what is inside my freezer



For my full 101 list, look here.

#29 - Learn to knit or relearn to crochet

Completed: Jan 20 & 27, 2007

I took the 'Learn to Knit' class with Jamie at Lettuce Knit and talk about fun!!!! It was kinda crazy because both days started off early (on a Saturday... for me that is huge to get up early on a Saturday) as well as being coooooooooooooold and snowy:



One of the most wonderful things about going was the atmosphere was relaxed and the instructor, Megan was wonderful. We went at a nice pace and it was very low stress. Making mistakes was ok - in fact, it was encourage not to go back and try to fix them but to leave it. It was everyone first scarf after all!



What is really interesting is although I very quickly felt like "I can do this!!!" I knew that there was so much more to learn! But, I found this exciting as opposed to (what I could normally feel like would be) discouraging. Because I felt like I learned something that I could make things with, and if I learned more - great! And if I don't, well that is ok too! I had to confess I didn't come into this from being a complete newb, I used to crochet when I was young so there was a certain amount that was familiar in a round about way. And although knitting is completely compulsive, I still have as of yet to finish my scarf. But, I did make a little bookmark which I gave to Jamie, and you can kinda see here in my hand - (its blue):



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Saturday Try Day - Snoop!

Create a Connection's Saturday host for this month is Jamie for Try Day! I decided to Try it out!

Snooping on myself if I was someone other than me (boy, that is going to be tough!)

Hmmm lets see here. Looks like this person sure does like 'stuff' That is a fairly health amount of space and I can't even see the floor. Mind you there would be a lot of entertainment on the way to finding the floor. I think they also like bright colours, I see yellow, pink, orange, blue and red. Do they do that on purpose? Does this room even have a theme or sorts? Hard to tell. I also see a lot of reading material. Maybe they do research of some kind. Ah, a printer still in its box and bag, an impulsive purchase perhaps? Although it looks very full there are many places to sit and even a blanket, I think they like to be cozy. What do you think?

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SPC: Resolutions 4 - Get out more

No.. not with nature or just out out, but with people. Actually call my friends, invite them over for tea or go to for a pint, a movie, etc. Ok inviting them over doesn't work but you know what I mean.... See 'em. Do stuff. Have fun! Catch up! All that good stuff and more.

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101 in 1001 update #46!!!

One more task complete with #88 - For one day smile at everyone I see, bringing me to 35/101 - yee haw! Hmmm, I wonder what I should pick next.

I'm still working on #7 - See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year, up to 4 weeks so far. I've also made progress on #14 - Write something about all the films I see (for the first time) throughout these 1001 days with reviews of: Monkey Warfare, Curse of the Golden Flower / Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia and Snow Cake



#38 - Keep a plant alive from 'The Auction' from one year to the next - update: They are still alive! Although Burrows was definatly suffering, 2 of 3 of the um.. things? arms? brances? stems.... most likely .. shrivled up!!! Turns out I was over watering it. The remaining one is looking ok. Berry is still growing strong!



#21 - Save a part of every paycheque - done!

#94 - Read every day - done! Still reading Sword-Born and Sword-Sworn by Jennifer Roberson. It's so big!! Trade paperback 2-in-1, sometimes a little hard to manage if I'm tired. But I'm still enjoying it.



#92 - Learn/Discover something new every day
Monday Jan 15/07 - The results of the Golden Globes (here), and that making dinner takes longer than I expect!
Tuesday Jan 16/07 - About the exisitance of the Principality of Sealand (as see on The Hour)
Wednesday Jan 17/07 - The country of Georgia located in SW Asia between Russia and Turkey
Thursday Jan 18/07 - it is really hard to get tomato paste out of a ziploc bag without making a big mess
Friday Jan 19/07 - Many personal insights
Saturday Jan 20/07 - how to cast on and cable stitch in knitting
Sunday Jan 21/07 - None of the Jan 12/07 film releases were shown in fewer theatres in their second week, and in fact two films increase in the number of theatres shown. Letters from Iwo Jima went from 2 theatres to 8, Miss Potter went from 4 theatres to 8



For my full 101 list, look here.

Film Fan Fridays relocated

Looking for your weekly film fix? It's on a brand new blog! See it here:

Planet Shannon's Film Fan Fridays!!

Saturday: Try Day ~ Try a Smile! / #88 - For one day smile at everyone I see

Completed: Jan 13, 2007

This week's Saturday Try Day by Jamie on Create a Connection's is ~ Try a Smile! And.... on a similiar vein on my 101 in 1001 For one day smile at everyone I see! Can you imagine? I decided to do them both!!!

Initially when I started my Try Day I thought I would smile at people and get them to smile back. Or at least brighten their day. Let's see some test cases..

First person I saw my landlord. A little bit of a challenge. I could hear her vacuuming (I had taken out my Christmas tree this week and although I did sweep up a lot I'm not known as the best cleaner!). I did smile and crack a joke or too, but don't think I got a smile back.

Next up! Walking down the street I ran to into some people I know! Easy peasy! Smiles and hugs and good convo. I also dropped by my Mom's. That was easy too, smiles and chatting and giggles.



Then I headed into Kensington Market to do my shopping. This was more challenging, as there is lots of hustle and bustle on a Saturday afternoon. I was adament that I would continue my quests! Even though sometimes I got distracted when I was buying stuff in the 'process' of paying, getting change, etc I still made the effort to smile and the shopkeepers and other customers. Big win there was the big smile I got back from the guy at the organic store, and maybe even a wink - woohoo!

The biggest challenging I think was... dum dum dum..... random people on the street. Oh boy.. varying results!! These are some of the things I came across:

-some people smiled, but looked away
-some people looked confused! (Is she looking at me? do I know her?)
-some people were *already* smiling!!!!
-couples.. who to smile at.. both? neither? don't want to give the wrong impression!!! I just did my best on that one.

But, the last lady I saw on my little adventure saw me smiling, she smiled back! YAY!!

That was a lot of fun, I think I will try it again soon!

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SPC: Resolutions 3 - Remember....

To take my pills. You think that doing something for over 2/3rd of your life you'd always remember to do it. Yeah, me too.



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101 in 1001 update #45!!!

A day late on my update.. blogger & I were not communicating very well!

It's been a little quiet here on planetshannon... but don't go thinking I haven't been busy! Oh that will be the day. I've completed another item on my 101 but I haven't had a chance to write about it yet - hopefully that will be up this week. One of the things keeping me busy is that I've started a film blog, Film Fan Fridays. The weekly newletter including releases will now be posted there. I've seen a few movies too, I'm attempting #7 - See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year again! I'm on week 3 so far woohoo!



#38 - Keep a plant alive from 'The Auction' from one year to the next - update: Oh my. Troubling news. I'm down to 2/3 from my plants that I got in August. My begonia has said goodbye. Burrows is looking a little sad too, but Berry is doing great. Poor lil begonia... you were so happy! Oh well, sometimes you have to face that you can't keep 'em all



#21 - Save a part of every paycheque - done!

#94 - Read every day - done! Still reading Sword-Born and Sword-Sworn by Jennifer Roberson.



#92 - Learn/Discover something new every day
Monday Jan 8/07 - seraph: one of the highest orders of angels
Tuesday Jan 9/07 - def: concatenation - linking or being linnked together, a connected series of things or events. I'm not entirely sure I understand this yet though.
Wednesday Jan 10/07 - deliberate = unhurried in thesaurus
Thursday Jan 11/07 - Canadians are 7 to 10 times more likely to be infected with HIV being in prison than outside prison (see article here)
Friday Jan 12/07 - Menu Mailer is adding points values to their menus.. yay less math
Saturday Jan 13/07 - A strategy to get tons of points in the game Collapse (I think 10+ at 1 time gives bonus), but it still didn't get my score anywhere near my Mom's! Go Mom!!
Sunday Jan 14/07 - This one is a little odd... the chicken I bought although looked boneless skinless, was...not.. Ew.



For my full 101 list, look here.

Try Day: Looking for Clues in All the Right Places

Create a Connection's Saturday host for this month is Jamie for Try Day! I decided to Try it out!

Step one: Notice

Ok! Did that. Mostly I found that I did this a little retrospectively at first but after a few days I was noticing a lot more in the moment. Noticing trends and reoccurances of themes.

Step two: Gather

I wrote down things I had noticed, first just as random thoughts, then after noticing patterns, grouped them up into a few categories.



Step three: Glean

Ok, so here I am with my creative self... what do I see?

Three types of things kept cropping up. Dang, now I can only remember two.. I know it was three. Maybe the last one will come to me.

First one - Connections
How freaky is this considering the blog for this idea and it being a brand new year, and most people I know are thinking of it as a year of connection?

The signs: Old faces cropping up... Suzie recently posted on her blog about finding out about a dear friend of her's, Stuart, after many years of wondering (see her lovely post here). Jamie called me Sunday AM and said turn to CBC right now! Do you know that person? Sure enough it was a friend of my brothers from high school (I was also friends with his sister) chatting about Coronation Street, I was beside myself. I've also been much more (if that is possible) chatty with people, some that I don't even know well (at work, at the gym) which isn't the norm. I've also quite frequently almost crashed into people walking around corners... being a brush away from a literal connection!

Second one - Things working out / Trust

Quite a few serendipidous moments so far. I'm not usually big on trust, often you would be met with this face if you asked my opinion on it:



But maybe there is something to is. Things will happen or they won't happen whether you worry about them or not. Sometimes its better to do/not do than to think. I'll probably deny that later. But it does lead me too...

Third one - planting seeds bring returns at the right times

This one is along the same lines as number two but what I noticed where was things that I was hoping for, and started the process of came back to me a few times this week. Some of which I was pretty continuous working on, others I had just dropped a hint once or so.



All in all I found this really insightful and encourage. I'm not sure where it will all end up but I'm definetly going to keep my eyes and ears open to signs and trends. Who knows who you might crash into around the next corner? Or what will come into fruition. I don't know yet, but I'll be there when it happens.

SPC: Resolution 2 - Lose "The Weight"

"The Weight". That is how one of my doc's refered to it. Like saying "Lose the Hat" or "The Attitude". Not in a mean way - just plain and simple. Talking directly to the elephant in the room. I did initially hesistated from posting, not because it isn't true, but more because I wish it wasn't true. But it is, for many reasons including health as well as personal. I've set a goal for my birthday (in July) that works out to about 15 lbs in about 30 weeks... seems reasonable. My plan is going to the gym 3x a week (as oppose to 2x), eating fresher, healther foods (fruit/veg/whole grains) and cut back on proccessed stuff, sugar and salt. We shall see.

On a happy note, my resolution from last week is going well. I've done my Morning Pages every day except Sunday (I usually take the weekends off anyhow. Saturday is optional but I don't write them on Sunday).

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101 in 1001 update #44!!

Woohoo finally have some actual progress!! Up to 34/101 - yay!! I'm hoping to be a 2nd 3rd through by the end of 2007 (read: at about 66ish). Two full tasks completed: #90 - Go 1 week without a daytimer or watch and #76 - Go without caffeine for 1 week, as well as a partial: #83 - Try out 10 new restaurants - I'm up to 7/10 on that one!



#38 - Keep a plant alive from 'The Auction' from one year to the next - update: They are still alive.. but one.. barely. My English begonia is really looking bad. I thought it might not be enough sunlight but now I think it might be over watering. Maybe it was sad it's babies didn't make it, I'm just not sure. I hope it pulls though its such a cute prickly plant!



#21 - Save a part of every paycheque - done!

#94 - Read every day - done! I finished (and recommend) 'Artemis Fowl' by Eoin Colfer, what a fun book. I know there are many sequels but I'm going to switch gears for now and read on that is on my List of 20 books to read, Sword-Born and Sword-Sworn by Jennifer Roberson. (really odd,.. I got it as a 2-in-1 but can't find a listing for it). I have read the first four books in this series and I had no idea it continued until I was researching to make my list of 20 books. The first in the series, Sword-Dancer if one of my favourite books of all time. Starting to read them again was like walking into a warm, familar place .. where you knew trouble was going to happen. It's so great.



#92 - Learn/Discover something new every day
Monday Jan 1/07 - def: pantograph - an instrument for copying plans, drawings on any scale desired
Tuesday Jan 2/07 - def: faradic - of or having to do with induced currects of electricity
Wednesday Jan 3/07 - the scale takes notice of the holidays
Thursday Jan 4/07 - IKEA had an amazing boxing week sale
Friday Jan 5/07 - at big fat burrito you order your burrito and specify without as opposed to with toppings
Saturday Jan 6/07 - sleeping in = more people at the laundromat
Sunday Jan 7/07 - Def: magic eye : any of several electronic monitorying devices, used for chekcing the functioning of machinery fo activating mecahnisms for operating traffic signals, etc



For my full 101 list, look here.

#76 - Go without caffeine for 1 week

Completed: Jan 2 - 8, 2007

I'm jumping the gun every so slightly as there are technically 2 1/2 hrs left for this challenge but seeing as I'm fairly confident how the rest of the day will turn out I can say this one is in the bag.

The things I love that have caffeine: Tea & chocolate
Other things I have that have caffeine: Coffee & pop

I'm a tea drinker. BIG tea drinker (and a participant in Create a Connection Mug Swap hosted by Jessie). Currently at about at least 4 a day (when I get to work and/or on my AM break, after lunch, when I get home, after dinner, at that the 'sit down to do something specific' time). I was surprized this one was not too hard. I bought a bunch of decaffeinated tea, as well as herbal. I had my normal amount of cups a day but all decaf. On day 2 I had a small-ish which turned into a pretty big headache, but popped some aspirin and waited it out, no problem.

On Jan 1st I brewed up a whole (last) pot of coffee - and I did the measurements wrong, it was awful! I don't usually drink coffee at home, and only have a hankering once in a while now. In truth I'm a coffee snob... I'm really particular about which ones I like. I had probably 2 cups of decaf during the week.

Chocolate... this one was harder, and I forgot it had caffeine. Considering it's just after the holidays there was still lots of treats around! What a conundrum! I decided to post movie quotes at work and those who guessed it right, won a chocolate! Mind you this meant they were on my desk at all times, so that was unexpected temptation! But I resisted.

Then there is pop.. which was fine. I don't have it all to often so, no worries there.

I almost caved (accidentally) on Sunday by having coffee ice cream... as it doesn't fit into one of those 4 categories. But I remembered before opening the freezer. Woot!

The time that was the hardest was when I sat down to do my 2007 Budget. Big task and one that would normally without a doubt be accompanied by a piping hot cup a tea. I did make decaf but it doesn't pack the punch of regular tea. But my budget still got done. I know a lot of it really has to do with the ritual of making the tea almost as much as drinking it. It's a great way to get away from things for 10 minute, or to multitask and do the dishes, putter, etc. Or both :)

One funny thing is, it didn't make me more sleepy at night.. but I slept in 3 out of 5 work days!



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#83 - 7/10 - Try out 10 new restaurants - Big Fat Burrito

Went to Big Fat Burrito with Mom & Jamie Jan 5, 2007.

Although this may not be technically considered a restaurant (you place your order at the counter, then sit at tables waiting to hear your named called for the order to be ready), I'm still going to count it. I picked a 10" chicken burrito with everything but tomatoes and wow, was it good or what! Yummy nummy. Many different flavours and you sure know when ya hit to hot sauce! It's made right to order and was the perfect temperature. Such a treat! I'm looking forward to trying the other kinds, especially the breakfast one!

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#90 - Go 1 week without a daytimer or watch

Completed: Jan 1 - 7, 2007

When looking for new daytimes in the fall of 2006 I decided to hold off buying one, and try this one from my list the first week in January. It did change one tradition I've had for years that on New Year's Day I transfer the info from one book to the next, but it seemed like the perfect time (possibly... easier?) to do this as I wouldn't be not refering to something I was used to but rather treking through each day assuming I'd end up everywhere I thought I would/should/planned to.

First.. let's talk about being watchless...



I hate being late. One of the times I look at my watch a lot is on the way to work. But, I realized I almost exclusively listen to '>Johnny Cash's 16 Greatest Hits (US link there) to work. That being said, I know I should be a-walking through the doors by the time I'm hearing Folsom Prison Blues. I also realized I pretty much know how long it takes to get most of the places I normally go. Even when meeting up with people, I figured if I got there first.. I was early and just wait. I went to a movie and if felt like it should be starting already but I was enjoying my popcorn and people watching, so.. it didn't really matter. That part of this one was surprizingly not hard to do. I only glanced at my empty wrist a few times... usually while waiting for the streetcar on my way home. I also figured if I really needed to know the time I could find out somehow (buy something and check the reciept, ask someone, look at the clock in the subway or a transfer machine)

Second part.. no datebook.

I usually live by my date book. I always have it on me during the week, it usually is even on my desk at work even though it has nothing to do with work. This week from not having it I realized I don't even look at it that often. The only thing I actually missed from was my contacts. Phone numbers and address - that was something I didn't expect to miss, and did need (I found the info through other sources but this came up more often than I though). I did find that the things I would normally put in my datebook have now actually been substituted by my tickler fill (ala Getting Things Done) such as chores, shopping, events, meetings, appointments, getting together with people so the things that were left were so habitual (work, going to the gym, laundry) that I didn't need to refer to anything. I know what I do Thursday nights, and Saturday mornings. In some ways this was cool to learn on the other I felt like the Dad in Honey I Shrunk the Kids (I remember the Mom saying something to the effect that he does everything on schedule like getting a haircut the first Tuesday every other month). So all in all I didn't really miss having a daybook, but then again it was a quiet week.

Verdict... I bought a new datebook today, but I forgot my watch at work



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Film Fan Fridays for Friday January 5th, 2007!!

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!!!

Happy New Year Everyone! One thing you can count on with the first week of releases is it is always nice and quiet. After all the holiday blockbusters and holding-out-for-as-long-as-they-can Oscar hopefuls, the beginning of the new year of releases are a lot calmer. Only 3 releases this week, and no Canadian (boohoo!) but they are varied so hopefully we will all find something out there that is interesting.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Friday January 5th, 2007 Releases

Freedom Writers
Writer/Dir: Richard LaGravenese (Living Out Loud)
Cast: Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Glenn, Kristin Herrera
Germany/USA

Happily N'Ever After
Dir: Paul J. Bolger - directorial debut
Voices: Sigourney Weaver, Freddie Prince Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, George Carlin
USA/Germany

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Dir: Tom Tykwer (Heaven, The Princess and the Warrior, Run Lola Run)
Cast: Alan Rickman, Dustin Hoffman, Ben Whishaw, Richard Felix
Germany/France/Spain
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Jan 5, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays 2007 Archive

January 5, 2007

2007 Releases

Freedom Writers
Happily N'Ever After
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

*incidates film as Canadian or Canadian co-pro

Please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of Jan 5, 2007

SPC: Resolutions - Morning Pages

I really thought about the idea of resolutions, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to make any. Well, more like I didn't want to make any I couldn't keep - and when I thought about that for a while that sounded pretty weak. So, I decided to go for it. I picked doing my morning pages as its something that fell to the way side by the end of the year. I think I found it the most valuable part of working through The Artist's Way (see my post about that here), and I started back at it again today so, so far so good.

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101 in 1001 update #42/43!!

Ah, 2 weeks 0f updates! What a way to start the new year by crossing something off my list!! Another task complete: #89 - Go 1 day without complaining about anything. Was not as hard as I thought it might be, could be good timing on that one. On to the partial updates:

Celebrating Yule brings #100 - Celebrate Ostara, Beltane, Midsummer, Lughnasadh, Mabon, Samhain, Yule & Imbolc at least once for the duration of the 1001 days up to 4/8 - I'm half way there there on this one!



#14 - Write something about all the films I see (for the first time) throughout these 1001 days with reviews for: Little Miss Sunshine and Dreamgirls. I had really hoped to be up to day by the end of Dec but alas, I'm still about 40 films behind. I actually found myself hesistating to watch something new because of that, which entirely wasn't the point of this one.

#31 - Read 1 fashion magazine a month - done for Dec 06. UK version of Cosmo. Technically not really a fashion mag but I looked at all the clothes with a fashionista eye, so I'm counting it.

#38 - Keep a plant alive from 'The Auction' from one year to the next - update: They are still alive! My English begonia isn't so happy though... the leaf is turning brown and all the little shoots kinda withered away. So sad.





#21 - Save a part of every paycheque - done!

#94 - Read every day - done! Still reading and loving 'Artemis Fowl' by Eoin Colfer. It's been a while since I've been this captivated by a book. Thanks Jamie for lending it to me!



#92 - Learn/Discover something new every day
Monday Dec 18/06 - def: cavort - prance about, jump around in a frisky way
Tuesday Dec 19/06 - how much my new pay is (weeeee)
Wednesday Dec 20/06 - cabbage leaves gives relief on breasts during postpardum
Thursday Dec 21/06 - the term: technopeasent
Friday Dec 22/06 - real cranberries must not be seasonal for now… I found them Thanksgiving but not today
Saturday Dec 23/06 - def: oolong - tea made from leaves that have been partially fermented before being dried in ovens.
Sunday Dec 24/06 - there are no plums in plum pudding
Monday Dec 25/06 - Wrath of Khan > The Polar Express, Tristan and Tristram are considered the same person/character
Tuesday Dec 26/06 - dogs have scent glands in their paws
Wednesday Dec 27/06 - There is a version of rugby that is touch instead of tackle (mostly for kids)
Thursday Dec 28/06 - def: sardonically - disdainfully or skeptically humorous
Friday Dec 29/06 - that when creating a task in Outlook you can simultaniously choose a start and end date by dragging out the time period of the task
Saturday Dec 30/06 - the chocolate in a chocolate fountain isn't hot. mmmm chocolate
Sunday Dec 31/06 - Apple Cider in French is Grog aux pommes



For my full 101 list, look here.

#89 - Go 1 day without complaining about anything

Completed: December 28, 2006

Initially when I but this on my 101 I didn't think about it too much, I just thought it was kinda funny and might be a challenge. This was a bit of a wierd one for me. I think its possible that I've done it already but didn't notice it specifically. I'm also not a huge complainer, at least not as of recent. I can be though, if I'm in a bad mood or somethings bugging me, I could go on forever... But recently I've not been really wanting to complain as well as not listen to people complaining. I mean, who every says "I had this great conversation with someone and they could really complain!" Sometimes we need to get things off our chests, but a lot of times I don't anyone benefits from putting out or receivig that kind of negitive energy.

I picked a relatively normal day where I would be at work & the gym & some stores as well as on the phone a bit. I considered picking a day that I pretty much kept to myself but decided that wouldn't really be a challenge.

The things that I noticed I did to not complain were not talking as much in general (that is a challenge as I can be pretty chatty), not joining in on discussions (more of saying something like "hmm.. interesting" and going back to my work) and the most interesting one was pausing before speaking, thinking about what I really meant, and saying something that ended up being more articulate and concise. So, something like 'Can you believe that ? What a jerk!' became 'I'm not quite sure how they came to that conclusion' and 'Gah, I hate this! I've got so much to do!' became 'Wow, I but a lot on my plate today.. I guess I will get back to it!'. That part of it was unexpected and quite fascinating, and made it well worth the effort to go through it.

Another thing was actions.. I went to the store and they gave me what I thought was a few too many bags (I'm really trying to cut down on plastic), and instead of making a snappy comment like "I only need one bag" I just repackage it and left the empty bag on the counter.

All in all it was a fascinating experience that I would recommend trying out.

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